swingset

I'm still fucked up from a mountain bike wreck, but I'm getting back to normal...should be a few weeks before I feel like I can handle trails, but I'm down for a Wayne ride for sure.

Hoping to make it this time!!

I see what's wrong, she's wearing Icon and that's only for Icy Hot Stuntaz.

I'll take this boring stuff any day...

I'm not saying there aren't good roads in Ohio, but for the most part they're nothing great especially compared to other states. If there's a county road or state road in Eastern or Southern Ohio that's twisty I haven't been on, it would really surprise me. I've mapped and explored that area pretty heavily, and I'm not boasting I spent a couple years doing nothing but on a bike. It's just an opinion, but the layout of the WV twisties is like a carnival ride - banked with clear vision. They invite you to wail on them. Ohio roads are like a screwy drunk bitch. Might be fun, might take your wallet and give you herpes. Might be a great twisty section, or it might be gravel in the turn, a tractor around the corner, or a decreasing radius-off-camber turd of a turn you haven't committed to memory yet.

There aren't too many roads I haven't been on in Ohio, unless by "ours" you mean you have your own. Even the best roads here are a pimple on the ass of 50 through the Monongahela, or 219, or 311, or 16 through Hawk's Nest....unless you think sweepers and the occasional blip of twisties is awesome. The only way you can qualify Ohio roads as great, is if you compare them to other roads in Ohio...or Iowa, or northern Indiana.

If buffeting is a problem, take your mirrors off and take a ride. A lot of Strom owners have found the mirrors to be the worst culprits. I swapped mine for a smaller, wider set and it's way better.

One of the easiest ways to get a pillion into the ride and putting their body mechanics to work for you is to tell them that their helmet/head always goes to the inside of a turn...in other words if you're going left they put their helmet slightly to the left of yours...so that they can see the turn. This will keep them neutral, and prevent them from counter-leaning. And, it will keep them focused on the ride. I ride 2-up a lot, and this works very well.

The skin thins with too much exposure to the elements.

Most of our roads suck. Hard. At least by comparison of some of the great roads. Hell, most any mountain road in WV puts the best Ohio road to absolute shame. However, nominating anything in Florida puts the judgment of that article into serious question. Ride the 2200 turns of the Devil's Highway in SE Arizona, and tell me that the Key West snooze-fest is worth talking about. Even putting PCH in first is debatable. Parts are awesome...and some parts are a parking lot.

My $35 a month Virgin smartphone bill is looking sweeter every day.

There was no murder before guns. In fact, I think if you look at history people were loving flower children of the earth before they came along and ruined people with evil intent. I prefer trying to understand and sympathize with people who want to hurt me. A hug goes a long way towards solving problems.

Ban driving, for the children.

You don't mention pants. You riding around nekkid? Srsly, you're going for all the protection but leaving your knees and legs to the fates? At least look into some kevlar-lined jeans if nothing else - they are worthless for impact, but will keep you out of the ER getting asphalt scrubbed out of your skin if you slide. Better yet, buy some armored overpants or real riding pants. It's a lot cheaper than the hospital bill, trust me.

I read an article when I lived in Arizona about a state highway official who had ordered construction zones to be lengthened to include entire stretches of road that were either not being worked on, or were unrealistically off of the timetable to be worked on...all in order to increase fines and enforcement. I think about that every time I see a long stretch of orange cones with seemingly nothing being done to the road or structures. Convenient, if you're in the revenue gathering business.

You can take the exact same tire on the same bike with two riders who weigh the same thing, and they'll have two different life spans on rear-tires. Your right hand and braking habits determine quite a lot. There's no "normal", just your experiences.

When I went to my track course, the instructor gave us a great demonstration about "chicken strips". They chalked up two rear tires on two different bikes, he rode one another guy rode the other...the bike that got all the way over on the turns and erased almost all the chalk line was slower through the turns than the instructor, who didn't even come close to the edge. It was a lesson about using the bike & your body's mechanics to lessen lean, and how that translates to better cornering, more speed, and allowing more room for error. I have plenty of rubber left on the outside of my tires, and I'm proud of it.

I'm thinking of heading up. I like to hear "I had to lay 'er down" stories from bald guys with goatees.

I like Facebook, but I have self-control. It's why I don't have any problems.

See above, you're fine.

The law is fucked up in this regard, and is actually specific enough he might be in for a tougher legal battle than he should be. Ohio Revised Code 2901.09 (B) states “a person who lawfully is in that person’s residence has no duty to retreat before using force in self-defense, defense of another, or defense of that person’s residence, and a person who lawfully is an occupant of that person’s vehicle or who lawfully is an occupant in a vehicle owned by an immediate family member of the person has no duty to retreat before using force in self-defense or defense of another.” Operative part in red. It really should be "occupant in a vehicle", period. Why it needs to be a family member for your life to count for shit is beyond me. Poor wording and intent, here, IMHO.

I've done my DL and other's bikes with the home-made manometer many times. Same as your SV, btw. One carb can be bad enough out to take one side in quick. If it's that bad out, you need to just have two hands busy....one to quickly turn the adj. screw to stop the lopsided pull and the other on the hose ready to pop it if it gets close to drawing your balancing fluid in...or alternatively on the kill-switch (I use 2-cycle oil, btw, which seems to be a little more forgiving than the thinner ATF). Nothing wrong with the ghetto tool, it's as accurate as mercury just more difficult if one side is drastically out for the reasons you've found. It might take you two or three tries till you figure out the right direction, but you'll get there. When you get it more or less stabilized, remember that it takes a few seconds to "settle in", so make a small "bump" to the screw and let the fluids do their thing for a minute. Just turning and reacting will make you frustrated, and it won't ever seem to balance. If you're within 1/2", you're golden. Then, put some clear nailpolish on the screwhead where it meets the spring.

Emissions, cost, government bullshit, etc. Why aren't there more diesels in general? Same reason. My personal theory is that Jeep has devoted its energies into luxurizing its line to satisfy Dave Matthews fans who drive in sandals, and such things aren't even on the radar. Well, they are, but they're down the list after items like "how do we get this to the showroom without it rusting apart?"

Put one together, much better than a pre-built kit and more tuned to your bike's needs than something generic.

For me, when they're in pain or discomfort to get through their day and medication or relief has a minimal effect, it's the right thing to do. It's hard, it sucks, especially when you still see that spark but sometimes it's just the best thing. Sorry to hear, btw, that's truly the worst part about a good dog is how short they're with us.